Culinary sifter or strainer.



No. 701,702. 0 Patented June 3,1902.

J. F. FOSTER G. A. FEBBER.

CULINARY SIFTEB 0B STRAINEB. (Application filed Sept. 88, 1901.)

(lo Modal.)

UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES F. FOSTER AND ANTHONY FERBER, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TOSIDNEY SHEPARD AND COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW

YORK.

CULINARY SIFT ER OR STRAIN ER.

srncrnxcnrron forming part of a e Patent No. 701,702,

dated June 3, 1902.

Application filed September 23, 1901; Serial No 76,260. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES F. Fosrnn and ANTHONY FERBER, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of: Erie and State ofNew York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Culinary: Siftersor Strainers, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to the culinary sif-i tors and strainers whichare employed for sifting flour and straining various substances, such ascooked fruits, and which comprisea dish having a reticulated orwire-cloth bottom and a rotary agitator or stirrer for sifting orstraining the material through the meshes of the bottoms The objects ofour invention are to simplify the construction of the agitator, itsoperating shaft, and the frame or spider in which the shaft is journaledand to so construct these parts that they can be readily removed fromthe dish to permit nesting of a number of the dishes and be folded intoa practically fiat condition to permit the removed parts to be packed ina small space for compact shipment and storage. I v 1 In theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sifter andstrainer embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a detached side elevation ofthe agitator and the removable frame-arms in-which it is journaled,showing the arms folded. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of these parts in thesame position. Fig. 4 is a vertical central section of the utensil.

Like letters of reference refer to in the several figures.

A is the usual sheet-metal dish oryessel of the utensil, having .aforaminous bottom A, of wire-cloth or other suitable material.

like parts B indicates the rotary agitatoigwhichsweeps.

over the bottom of the dish and which is mounted on a verticalcrank-shaft. l The agitator may be of any ordinary or suitable construction, but is preferably made" in theform of an upright loop, whichlatter and the crank shaft are bent from a single piece 'of wire. Asshown in the drawings, the lower bar b of the agitator-loop rests uponthe wire-cloth bottom of the dish and extends diametrically across thesame, while the upper bars I) b of end .of the'lowershaft-section b theloop extend inwardly to the center thereofand terminate inoppositely-turned vertical branches b 'b These branches are located inline with each other and form upper and lower sections of thecrank-shaft, the bar bconnecti-ng oneend of the continuousagitator-bar?) with the lower end of the upper shaft-section b while thebar 12 connects the other end of said agitator-bar with the upper Thelower shaft-section b is loosely seated in a bearing arranged centrallyin the bottom of the dish, while the upper section is provided with acrank b having a knob or handle, as shown.

In the construction shown in the drawings the bearing of the lowershaft-section 11 consists of an opening formed in the wire-cloth bottomof the dish and reinforced by a perforated-disk or washer c, which issoldered to the wire-cloth.

The upper shaft-section b is journaled in a frame or spider which isremovably at tached to the projecting rim of the dish and composed ofradial arms, stays, or braces D, three arms being sufficient, as shown.These arms, which are preferably constructed of wire, are provided attheir inner ends with eyes or bearings 01, which loosely encircle theupper section of the crank-shaft, and at their outer ends with hooks d,which engage over the rim of the dish. The inner ends of the arms D aresupported on a collar 6, secured to the upper section of thecrank-shaft, and are prevented from becoming detached from thecrank-shaft by the knob of the latter.

In order to remove the agitator from the dish, the arms D are. all swungor turned to one side of the dish,a fs shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1,when the crank-shaft can be tilted ,in the direction of the armssufiiciently to release their hooks from the rim of the dish, as shownin Fig.4, permitting the shaft to be withdrawn from its bearing in thebottom "of the dish. A number of such dishes can thus be nested forcompact shipment or storage like ordinary pans or dishes, while the armsD, by reason of their pivotal connection with the crank -"shaft, can befolded side by side and brought in the plane of the agitatorloop and thecrank b as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, permitting a number of the agitators,with the arms D, to be packed in a practically fiat condition andcompactly shipped or stored. As the arms D are permanently attached tothe crank-shaft, they are not liable to be lost or mislaid.

In applying the agitator to the dish the lower end of the crank-shaft isplaced in its bearing 0, the arms D are brought together and their hooksengaged over the rim of the dish, after which the arms are separated andspaced equally around the dish. In thus spreading the arms thecrank-shaft is brought to its vertical position and braced, the armsbecoming tightened sufiiciently to prevent detachment of their hooksfrom the dish except by grouping the arms at one side of the dish, asbefore described. The arms are made of such a length that their hookssnugly embrace the rim of the dish and hold them in their normalposition by the frictional c011- tact of the hooks with the dish.

Ve claim as our invention-- 1. In a sifter or strainer, the combinationof a dish having a foraminous bottom, an upright shaft removablyjournaled in the dish and carrying an agitator which sweeps over thebottom of the dish, and a foldable stayframe for the shaft removablyattached to the dish and composed of radial arms having their inner endsconnected to the shaft and provided at their outer ends with attachmentsconstructed to engage with the rim of the dish, substantially as setforth.

2. In a sifter or strainer, the combination of a dish having aforaminous bottom, an upright shaft removably journaled in the dish andcarrying an agitator, and a removable stay-frame for the shaft com posedof foldable arms provided at their inner ends with eyes which looselyencircle the shaft and at their outer ends with hooks which embrace therim of the dish, substantially as set forth.

In a sifter or strainer, an agitator and its operating-shaft bent from asingle piece of wire and comprising upper and lower shaftsections, acontinuous agitator-bar extending across the lower shaft-section, aconnectingbar extending from one end of said agitatorbar to the lowerend of the upper shaft-section, and a similar connecting-bar extendingfrom the opposite end of said agitator-bar to the upper end of the lowershaft-section, substantially as set forth.

4-. In a sifter or strainer, the combination of an upright shaftprovided at its upper end with a crank and at its lower end with anagitator arranged in the plane of the said crank, and folding arms orstays pivoted at their inner ends to said shaft and provided at theirouter ends with attachments constructed to engage over the rim of thesifter or strainer, substantially as set forth.

\Vitncss our hands this 29th day of August, 1001:

JAMES F. FOSTER. ANTHONY FERBER.

\Vitnesses:

CARL F. GEYER, THEO. L. POPP.

